‘Uber for Helicopters’ is crazy, unnecessary and completely awesome

To promote their latest electric-powered car, Nissan has coated a Leaf to be glow-in-the-dark. The unique paint absorbs UV energy during daylight, in order to shine brilliantly at night and contains a rare natural earth product called strontium aluminate. It is both solid and odourless, as well as chemically and biologically inert and can apparently last for up to 25 years. Unfortunately this special paint was applied to the Leaf solely as a marketing stunt and Nissan is not planning to publicly release any glowing vehicles. So for now, the below video will have to suffice. Enjoy!

Viral video of the week

YouTuber Baracksdubs has cut together speeches from Barack Obama to make it sound like he is singing along to Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off. The sassy “mm-hmms” are enough to get our attention and with almost 2 million views in a week, we aren’t alone.

IKEA has created a vocabulary of emoticons to convey home-inspired messages. According to the Swedish retailer, men and women have always found difficulty communicating about at-home issues, particularly around clutter. So, a communication tool to ensure all your hints, desires and questions are understood right away is essential, right? By tapping into the international Emoji infatuation, IKEA is the first brand to produce a set of emoticons specific to their store and products – with the glossary including IKEA shelves, a storefront, and even their trademark meatballs.

app of the week

If you’re a nervous flyer, you need to download this app. Taking advantage of newly unrestricted use of digital devices during takeoff and landing, the app offers a gaming experience intended to distract and soothe those who can think of nothing worse than ascending to the skies in a giant metal tube. Check this out:

Helicopter rides are fun and fast; and ridesharing services like Uber are booming. These are the two core ideas behind Gotham Air, a new helicopter rideshare company that promises to get you from helipad to airport in six minutes. Other than saving stacks of time (and feeling like an absolute boss), one of the main draws of using the service is price: a typical Gotham Air flight is $US219 per person. Whilst this is still more than a cab to the airport, it is far less than the cost of chartering an entire helicopter yourself, which can easily hit upwards of $US1000.

website of the week

Curious to know how a particular word translates into another language? What about how it translates into every language across the globe? Head on over to World Map, type in any word and watch as the map comes alive. Not only does the interactive experience pin point how to say and spell each word, it also delves into how each language has spread through migration and colonisation.